Valentine's Day
by BettyHall223
Summary: As Valentine's Day approaches, Sam is missing Jack.


_Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are not my property. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Flashbacks are in italics._

_A/N: Sorry I didn't get this finished before Valentine's Day._

Sam opened the door to the card shop, stepped inside and glanced around. There was an abundance of red everywhere. Red heart-shaped balloons, red stuffed animals, candy wrapped in red cellophane and row after row of red valentine cards.

She slowly wandered down an aisle and stopped at a display of cards marked "friend." Picking up one, she opened it and grinned as she read the poem, thinking that Daniel would like this.

Reading a few more, she found one for Teal'c. After living on his adopted planet for so many years, he had become aware of Earth customs and last year had surprised her on valentine's day with a vase filled with daisies, her favorite flower.

Turning around to see a large display with all sizes and colors of teddy bears, she picked up a white one about ten inches tall with a red ribbon tied around its neck. Its face was so cute and it felt so soft. Cassie would love it.

With those three taken care of, she could now focus on the main reason she had come here, to find the perfect card for Jack.

Coming around the corner, she took a deep breath as she glanced at so many cards. There were cards for husband, wife, fiancé and sweetheart. Cards with sound, some were humorous and some romantic.

Sam sighed. 'Well, I'm not his wife, fiancé or sweetheart' she thought to herself. "What exactly am I to Jack?" she mumbled out loud.

Jack had been in Washington for almost six months. She received work related e-mails almost daily and occasionally they would talk to see how the other was doing, but she had not worked up the nerve to tell him how she really felt about him and he had not mentioned their relationship, or lack thereof, to her.

_Almost two months ago, Jack had come back to the Springs for Christmas and he, Daniel and Teal'c had spent the day at her house. Jack would be spending Christmas night at Daniel's place and had to return to Washington the next morning. It was getting late and the three men decided it was time to leave so she followed them to the door. Jack told Teal'c and Daniel he would meet them at the car._

_Jack took her hands in his. "Thanks for inviting me, Sam. It was good to see you again."_

_Her heart was beating so fast, wishing he wasn't leaving, unsure of when she would see him again._

"_I'm glad you came for Christmas, Jack. I've missed you." She could feel the tears coming but she didn't want him to see her cry._

"_I've missed you too."_

_They stared at each other a few seconds longer, then leaning over he gently kissed her cheek. He squeezed her hands and let go. As he walked down the steps, he turned, looked back and she saw a look of sadness on his face._

_After he got into the car, she closed the door and leaned against it, feeling very lonely without him as tears ran down her face._

_She lay down on the sofa and stared at the Christmas tree. After breaking her engagement to Pete, she had hoped that things would change with Jack but neither one had addressed their relationship. She wasn't dating anyone and from what she had been told by Daniel, Jack wasn't seeing anyone either._

She was startled out of the memory as a woman walked up beside her.

"May I help you find something?"

"Uh, well, I'm not sure which card I should choose."

"Is it for a friend?"

Sam smiled. "Yes, a male friend."

"Someone you've known a long time or someone you work with?"

"We used to work together and we've known each other for several years, but he's in Washington now so we don't see each other very often."

"I see. So you worked together and you're friends. Did you date?"

Sam shook her head. "Oh, no."

"Why not?"

"We're both in the Air Force and it wasn't allowed."

The woman smiled. "But things have changed now and you'd like for him to know you want there to be more between you than just friends?"

"Yes."

"Okay, let's see what we can find."

They read several cards until Sam finally found the perfect one.

************

Jack walked through the door of a flower shop and looked around as a woman behind the counter smiled at him.

"May I help you, sir?"

"Well, uh, I'm not exactly sure what I want."

"Is this for valentine's?"

"Yeah."

"Something for your wife?"

"I wish" he mumbled.

The woman frowned. "Excuse me?"

Jack waved his hand. "Nothing."

"We have some beautiful flowers and different arrangements. If you're not sure what you want, we have several books that you could look through to give you some ideas."

Jack paused for several moments. "You know, I'll just think about it and maybe come back later."

The woman smiled again. "Okay."

Jack left the shop, got into his car and sighed as he sat staring out the window. "You're such a coward, O'Neill. Can't even send Sam some flowers to let her know you're thinking about her. How will you ever let her know you love her if you can't even do this little thing like send her flowers?"

Angry with himself, he hit his fist on the steering wheel, started the car and drove home.

************

Tomorrow was not only Saturday, it was also valentine's day. Sam knew that Daniel had asked Teal'c to help with a translation tomorrow morning and Teal'c had agreed. Before leaving the base, she sneaked into Daniel's office and left the cards for him and Teal'c in his chair.

As she quickly drove home, she glanced at the passenger seat. There lay the card for Jack. She had started to drop it in the mail but, at the last minute, had come up with a plan. She did not have to report back to work until Tuesday so she had decided to fly to Washington. She smiled as she imagined the look of surprise on Jack's face when she showed up on his doorstep.

She had hurriedly reserved a seat on the next flight to Washington and would have just enough time to pack a bag and get to the airport in time to catch the plane.

Rushing into the house, she decided what to take with her and quickly packed. She was soon on her way to the airport.

After parking her car and arriving at the gate, she only had to wait a few minutes before boarding and taking off.

As she settled into the seat, thoughts came into her head. What if Jack isn't home when I get there? Should I have called and told him I'm coming? No, I don't want to do that, I want this to be a surprise. What will his reaction be when he sees me? Will he be pleased that I'm there? Will he not want me there? What if he has a woman with him?

She had missed Jack desperately since Christmas, so she was determined to finally let him know how much she cared about him.

The plane soon arrived, she hurried through the terminal and hailed a taxi. Giving the driver Jack's address, she tried to breathe slowly to calm the butterflies in her stomach.

The taxi pulled up outside Jack's townhouse. Sam paid the driver, picked up her bag and got out of the car. As the taxi pulled away, she stared at the building.

'Go on, Sam. You've come all this way. You can do this.'

Walking slowly up the walk she climbed the steps. Taking a deep breath, she rang the doorbell. After waiting several moments, the door opened and there stood Jack. He was wearing sweats, looking so relaxed. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized that he seemed to get more handsome with age.

He raised his eyebrows and stared at her. She couldn't help but smile at his reaction.

"Carter!"

"Hi, Jack."

"What are you doing here? I mean, it's good to see you but . . . this is a surprise."

She pulled the valentine from her purse and handed it to him. "I brought you this."

Jack slowly held out his hand and took the card from her. "What is it?"

She grinned. "Happy valentine's day."

"You came all this way to bring me a valentine?"

She smiled shyly. "I wanted to give it to you in person instead of mailing it to you."

Jack stared at her as if he could hardly believe she was here. "Well, come in." He stepped back and motioned for her to enter.

Sam came inside and set her bag and purse on the floor as Jack closed the door.

He smiled at her. "Should I open this now?"

She nodded her head. "Yes, please."

He opened the envelope and pulled out the valentine. On the front was a woman sitting alone on a beach, watching a sunset. Jack opened the card and began to read out loud.

In the morning when I wake up

And I open up my eyes,

I feel an aching in my heart

That's when I realize,

How much I really miss you

And long to have you near,

My heart is filled with sadness

And my eyes are filled with tears.

At different times throughout the day,

I find I'm missing you,

And I wonder if, perhaps a bit,

That you might miss me too.

I miss you in the shower,

When I'm there all alone,

And when I want to hear your voice,

I call you on the phone.

When I check my e-mail

And find there's nothing there,

I can't help but worry,

So I say a silent prayer.

I think by now it's safe to say

That I miss you very much,

And my heart will never be the same

Since it suffered Cupid's touch.

Happy Valentine's Day

All My Love

Sam

Jack stared at the card as he swallowed the lump in his throat. "This is beautiful. Thank you."

He looked up to see tears in Sam's eyes, took two steps and wrapped his arms around her as she began to cry.

They held on to each other for a long time without saying a word. Finally pulling back, Sam spoke.

"We've been avoiding our feelings for years."

"I know" Jack whispered.

"Is it too late for us?"

Jack smiled. "Never. When I was at your house for Christmas, I wanted to say something to you but I chickened out. You already know that talking about my feelings isn't something I do. I'm sorry."

Sam shook her head. "It's okay. I haven't been very open about my feelings for you either. But when I read the card, I knew I had to give it to you. I thought it might be a good way to finally talk about us. If you want there to be an 'us' that is."

Jack squeezed her hand. "There should definitely be an 'us' Sam."

He slowly leaned over and kissed her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. This kiss was real. Not the kiss of an alternate universe, alien virus, hallucination or dream.

The kiss ended and Sam stared at his lips, then smiled as she blushed. "Kissing you is even better than I had imagined."

"Think you'll ever get tired of kissing me?" Jack asked with a smirk.

Sam shook her head and grinned. "Not in a million years."

He ran his thumbs over her cheeks and looked into her eyes. "I love you, Sam. I should have said it a long time ago."

A tear ran down her cheek and he wiped it away with his thumb. "I love you too, Jack."

He led her to the living room and they sat down on the sofa.

Sam wiped her eyes. "I made up my mind that I was going to come here and tell you how I feel."

Jack took both her hands in his. "I'm really glad you did."

"I wasn't sure how you'd react to my showing up here. I didn't know whether you'd be glad to see me or I thought you might have a woman here and then I'd really have made a fool of myself."

"There is no other woman because no one else will ever take your place. I realized that when I was with Kerry. If you hadn't come here, I probably would have spent the rest of my life alone. As much as I wanted you with me, I . . . I guess I thought your feelings for me had changed and as much as it hurt, I do want you to be happy."

"There are so many things I want to say to you and I've never had the courage."

"Like what?"

"Like, I'm so tired of hiding how I feel. I'm sorry for hurting you with Pete. I'm sorry I got tired of waiting until we could be together. I broke my engagement because of you. I'm sorry for all those times when you felt I didn't care. I do care. I just didn't know how to tell you or show you. I want us to be together. Is that possible?"

"Yeahsureyoubetcha" he grinned.

Sam smiled.

He held tightly to her hands. "Thank you for showing up here. I don't think I would have been brave enough to do what you did. As much as I've wanted us together, I guess I just thought that our time had passed, but this is one time I'm glad I was wrong."

"Me too, Jack."

He looked down at their hands. "I went to a florist with the intention of sending you flowers. Then I got there and had no idea what to get you so I left. I'm such an idiot."

Sam smiled and put her hand to his cheek. "No you're not, Jack. It was sweet that you even thought about sending me flowers."

He looked into her eyes. "I may not be the most romantic guy you've ever known but I will always love you. I don't know how, Sam, but we'll make this work. I promise."

She slid closer to him and he put his arm around her as she put her head on his shoulder.

"Happy valentine's day, Jack."

Jack smiled. "Back at cha."

The End

**A/N: I cannot take credit for the poem. It belongs to a woman named Krystle Frame.**


End file.
